Trimmer for boat-loading apparatus



A. F; CASE TRIMMER FOR BOAT LOADING APPARATUS Aug. 18, 1925.

3- Sheets-Sh eet l Filed Juiy 1921 Aug. 18,- 1925. I 1,549,904

. Aug. 18, 1925.

A. F. CASE TRIMMER FOR BoA'r LOADING APPARATUS Filed July 9, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I r I 5 ---2sgs. J

Patented Aug. 18, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,54eao4 PATENT? orr cs.

ARTHUR F. CASE, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE WELLMAN-SEAVER-MQR- GAN COMPANY, O'F CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CURPORA'IION OF OHIO.

TRIMMER FOR BOAT-LOADING APPARATUS.

Application filed July 9,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, ARTHUR F. Cnsn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of ()uyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Trimmers for Boat-Loading Apparatus, or which the following is a full, clear, and exact descrip-' tion.

This invention relates to trimmers for boat loading apparatus, and is an improvement over the construction constituting the subject matter of my prior application, Serial No. 4 145,494, filed February 16, 1921.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide certain improvements which facilitate the replacement of the trimmer belt. A further object is to provide means for keep ing the belt taut, and for automatically taking up slack as the belt stretches, and also to provide construction wherein the belt may yield if an unusually large and heavy lump drops onto the belt from the chute above. A still further object is to prevent the ac cumulation of line particles of material on the deflector which 1 provide, as disclosed in my prior application, bet-ween the upper and lower legs of the belt.

The invention may be, briefly summarized as consisting in certain novel details of con struction, and combinations and arrangements of parts which. will be described in the specification and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheets of drawings wherein I have shown the preferred embodiment of the invention, Fig. 1 is a side view 'o-f the trimmer which is located and supported at the lower end of the upright delivery chute of the boat loading apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view substantially along the line 2-2 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow; Fig. 8 is a side view of the lower part of the trimmer looking at the side opposite to that shown in Fig. 1, the rear end portion not being shown; Fig. 4 is a sectional view substantially along the line H of Fig. 3, looking in the direction indicated by the arrowsyand Fig. 5 is a sectional view substantially alongthe line 55 of Fig. 8, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows. leferring now to the drawings, 10 repre sents a casting designed to be rotatably supported on the lower end of the telescopic 1921. Serial No. 483,476.

vertical or substantially vertical delivery chute of the boat loading apparatus and carrying the delivery elbow 11 which defiects the coal laterally and discharges it either onto the delivery belt, or directly in the hatch of the boat, this elbow, as in my prior applicatiomprelerably having opposite flat sides and'a curved or rounded bottom and rear wall, and an open front. The trimmer may be rotated about the axis of the vertical chute by any suitable means such as disclosed in my prior application, but as the present invention does not involve this rotating means, the latter is not shown.

Pivotally supported on the casting 10 by a transverse pin 12, is a deliverylmember having a pair of parallel supporting arms 13 which swing along opposite sides of the elbow 11 and to which is attach'ed'a lower frame 1%, formed of suitable structural material and supporting a delivery belt 15 and its bearings to be referred to, and a belt driven motor 16, indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. This motor is supported. at the rear of the belt, and at the lower rear part of the frame 14:, so as to be beneath the elbow 11, and it drives the belt through the medium of a chain indicated at 17, here shown as enclosed within a chain guard 18. Above the frame 14 are so-called side boards 19 which guide the material and keep the latter from falling off the belt. The width of the belt is substantially the same as the distance between the side boards as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, and the belt is slightly below the bottom of the-side boards, as shown in these figures.

This delivery member is designed to be swung about the pin 12 so as to vary the angle of discharge, or to swing the beltclear elbow, and concentrically curved with respect to the pivoting pin 12.

It is very desirable to use an endless belt in the trimmer as distinguished from what is known as a spliced belt formed from a strip of material whose ends are spliced together. The splice in the belt for this purpose, constitutes a weakness which is detrimental as the splice is easily torn out, rendering further use of the belt impossible, and with the endless belt this weakness does not exist.

Regardless of whether an endless belt is utilized, the belt must be frequently renewed as it is subjected to rough usage and very considerable wear, especially as the material being loaded is usually coal, which drops from a considerable height, and consists of more or less rough lumps, some of large size.

Though the endless belt has longer life than the spliced belt, and therefore does not need as frequent renewal as the spliced belt, it is nevertheless desirable that it be capable of renewal without keeping the trimmer idle for a very considerable time. This was noted by me in the description forming a part of my prior application, and to facilitate the removal of an endless belt, the trimmer shown in my prior application has a belt supporting framework which is open opposite the belt, so that by removal of the bearings for the belt pulleys at one side of the delivery member, the belt could be slipped from the pulleys and replaced with a new belt. The present improvements are designed primarily to facilitate the removal of a worn belt and its replacement with a new belt, utilizing belts of the endless type, and to keep the belt taut, automatically compensating for stretching.

.ln the attainment of these objects, specially mounted bearings are provided for the shafts carrying the belt pulleys, and these will now be described, reference being had particularly to Figs. 4 and 5.

The rear or driving pulley is shown at 22, this pulley being mounted on a shaft 23 provided at one end with a driving sprocket wheel 24-. T he front pulley is shown at 25 (see Fig. 4t) this pulley being mounted on a shaft 26. By reference to Fig. 5 it will be seen that on the driving side of the delivery member, i. e. the right hand side as shown in Fig. 5, the shaft 23 is mounted in a bearing 27 which is secured in fixed position on the frame 14. However, on the opposite side, i. e. the side from which the belt is removed or appliec, the. shaft is supported in a bearing 28 which is normally fixed to the frame let by being secured thereto by bolts 29 (see Fig. 3), but this hearing 28 has a part, extending down along the side of the lower part of the frame i l, and its lower end is pivoted on a pin 30 to swing laterally outward. The upper part of the bearing 28, i. e. the part which receives the shaft journal, is composed of two relatively movable parts 28 and 28 secured together, as is customary, by a swinging bolt 31. Obviously when the bolt 31 is loosened, and when the bolts 29 are removed, ai bearing 28 can be swung as a whole downward out of the way of the belt 15.

The two bearings 32 and 33 for the front pulley shaft 26 are capable of swinging movement lengthwise of the belt, and in addition the bearing is capable of being swung downwardly and outwardly like the bearing 28 of the rear pulley shaft 23. To that end the bearing 32 at its lower end, located at the side of the lower part of the frame is pivoted by a transverse pin in a bearing housing 235, so that the bearing can swing forwardly and rearwardly with reference to the length or axis of the delivery member. This housing 35 extends over the top of the frame 1a and t wn along its side, as shown in Figs. 1 and -l-, and it is secured to the frame let by bolts :36. This housing is specially constructed to serve as a guide for the bearing 32 to permit it to have free forward and rearward swingin movements. The upper part of this bearin which surrounds the journal of the shaft, is likewise composed of sections pivoted together and normally held in position by a swinging bolt 36. y

The other bearing 83 for the front pulley shaft 26 is guided for forward and rearward swinging movement in a housing 37 which is normally secured by bolts 88 to he frai'ne 14;. Both the bearing 33 and the iousing 37 extend over the frame 1 1 and down along its side, and like the bearing 32, this bearing at its lower end is pivoted by a transverse pin 39 to the lower part of the housing. The housing 37 is identical with the housing 35, except that the lower part thereof is pivoted by means of a longitudinally extending pin 40 to a bracket 11 secured to the side of the frame l i, so that wh n the two halves of the upper part of the bearing are loosened by releasing the nut, and upwardly the swinging bolt 42, which cor esponds to, and is similar to the swinging bolts of the bearings previously referred to, and when the bolts 38 fastening the housing to the top of the frame 1% are removed, the housing 37 and the bearing 33 can be swung downward and laterally outward in precisely the same way as the bearing 28 is capable of being swung.

In Fig. 2 l have shown a plan of the housing 87, this view showing that the upper part of the housing has a rectangular opening 37 which receives and guides the upper part of the bearing, and that beneath this upper portion is a downwardly extend in web 3t shown also in Fig. 4, alongside of which the downwardlextending arm 33 of the bearing 33 extends. The two housings 35 and 37 are similar, except as already noted. that the housing 37 has provision at its lower end for pivoting it onto the bracket 41.

ba -s Thus it will be seen that the two bearings on the one side of the delivery member are capable of being swung downward so as to permit the endless belt to be removed or applied to the two drums, and that the front bearings are capable of swinging forwardly and rearwardly. In order that this forward and rearward swinging movement of the font bearings may be utilized to keep the belt taut, and to compensate for stretching, yieldable meansare provided to press the front and rear bearings apart. In the embodiment shown, this means takes the form of a barrel composed of two telescopic parts 43 and 44, enclosing a still coil spring 45,

and threaded at their closed ends, these closed ends being screwed onto the shanks of two bolts 46 whose outer ends are pivot ally connected at 47 to the front and rear hearings on one side. This construction is duplicated on both sides of the delivery member, so that between each. forward bean ing and the corresponding rear bearing on the same side of the delivery member there is this connection, including a spring which presses the front bearing yieldingly forward. l/Vhen the belt is applied and the bearings have been restored to the position for supporting the pulley shafts. the barrels 43 and 44 are turned on the bolts 46. The

eifect of this is to swing the front bearings forwardly until the belt becomes taut. Thereupon, further turning movement of the barrels simply screws the barrels inwardly along the bolts 46, imposing cempression in the springs 45. When the ban rels have been adjusted to the right position, they are locked in that position by lock nuts 46, Obviously the tension thus im'posed'in these springs 45 keeps the belt taut, and if the belt stretches, the stretch will be taken up and the belt'maintained under substantially a uniform tension. By this adjust ment it is possible also to cause the belt to run true on the pulleys, which is not usually the, case when all four bearings for the two shaftsare in fixed position. Furthermore, the yieldability of the front bearings under the action of the springs 45, has a tendency to considerably prolong the life of the belt for the reason that should large lumps be thrown onto the belt from the elbow, the belt may give, and thus absorb the shock. In fact, when the trimmer is in operation, the front bearings are constantly undergoing a slight oscillatory movement as the material delivered by the. apparatus passes, through the elbow onto the belt and is carried forwardly along the same.

In my co-pending application I provided between the upper and lower legs of the belt a V-shaped deflector for deflecting laterally the material which drops from the upper leg of the belt, and thereby serving to keep this material from dropping'onto the lower to this deflector member.

fact that the material which falls on this deflector is composed chiefly of fine dust, the fine particles do not readily fall off the deflector but collect on it so that it becomes necessary from time to time to wipe the ma terial from the deflector.

It is one of the purposes of the present invention to eliminate the possibility of the material collecting or piling up on this deflector, and in the accomplishment of this I talre advantage of the oscillatory movement of the front bearings referred to above so as to cause the deflector, or the major portion thereof to be constantly subjected to a slight vibratory motion. In the present case I provide a deflector substantially the same as that shown in my prior application, this deflector being preferably composed of two parts 48 and 49, these members being arranged between the upper and lower legs of the belt. Both members are V-shaped, with the apex or corner of the V arranged midway between the edges of the belt so that the material will slide off from both sides and drop laterally through the open sides of the frame. Their inner ends overlap somewhat as shown in Fig. 3. The men; ber 49 is relatively short, this being the rear member which is preferably secured'along its lower edges to the top of the frame 14. The other member 48 extends the maior portion of the distance between the two pulleys, and this member is attached at its forward ends to the bearings 32 and so that the oscillatory movement of these hearings will impart the vibratory endwise movemeiit The member 48 can be attached to the bearings in dilierent ways, but I prefer to provide vat the front end thereof, near the lower edges, a pair of forwardly extending lugs, indicated at 50 in Fig. 8, which lugs may be pinned to the bearings, one of the pins being shown at 51. By this vibratory movement which is constantlynpplied to the deflector 48, the finest material; falling onto the member 48 will slide off. so that the deflector is kept substantially clean of material. If desired, the lower side edges of the member 48 may he loosely connected to the top of the frame 14 so as to hold the member 48 in place, but

nevertheless permit it to'have its vibratory movement. Pin and slot connections between the top of the frame 14 and the edges of the member 48 will answer this purpose.

The pins 51 which'connect the forward end of the deflector 48 to the bearings may be made removable, although it is essential that only the pin 51 which connects the deflector to the laterally movable bearing 33 be removable, sothat the bearing may ill be disconnected from the deflector prior to swinging the bearing downward to remove a worn belt and replace it with a new one.

In Figs. 4C and 5 I have provided at the lower edges of the side boards 19, downwardly projecting plates 52 which extend downward beneath the upper leg of the belt, and substantially close the slot between the upper edges of the belt and the lower edges of the side boards. These plates are here shown in the form of angles which are secured by bolts 53 to the laterally extending flanges of angles secured along the lower edges of the side boards. It will be understood that if these plates or strips 52 are utilized, the plate on one side of the delivery member, i. e. the side at which the belt is removed or applied, will be removed by removing the bolts 53 before the belt can be removed. In Figs. 1 and 8 I have omitted these plates 52 for the sake of clearness.

Thus it will be seen that when the belt becomes worn so that it becomes necessary to replace is with a new belt, the two bearings on one side of the delivery member, i. e. the bearings 28 and 83 are swung downward out of operative position, the compression of the springs 45 first being relieved so that the belt can slacken. Thereupon the belt can he slipped from the pulleys and a new belt put on the latter, after which the bearings 28 and 33 will be restored to the normal or supporting position, and the springs 45 again compressed so as to subject the belt to the proper tension.

In has been previously explained how he connections between the front and rear bearings, including the springs 45, keep the belt taut and cause it to run properly on the pulleys, and that the oscillatory movement of the front bearings produces a vibratory or trembling action in the main deflector member 48 so as to keep it clear of dust and other particles which fall from the top of the belt, so that further description of the operation is unnecessary. It might be stated, however, that on the side at which the belt is removed, the bolts or equivalent means fastening the deflector members to the top of the frame 14 will be removed to permit the removal of the belt.

While I have shown only the preferred construction, I do not desire to be confined to the precise details or arrangements shown and described, but aim in my claims to cover all modifications which do not involve a departure from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a trimmer, a conveyor belt, a supporting frame for the belt, pulleys about which the belt travels, and bearings for the pulleys supported by the frame, the hearings on one side of the frame being mounted so that they may be swung in a lateral direo tion to permit the removal of the belt.

2. In a trinnner, a conveyor belt, a supporting frame for the belt, pulleys about which the belt travels, bearings for the pulleys supported by the frame on opposite sides thereof, the bearings on one side of .the frame being pivoted to the frame so that they may be swung downwardly and laterally outward to permit the removal of the belt.

In a trimmer, a conveyor belt, a supporting frame for the belt, front and rear pulleys about which the belt travels, front and rear bearings for the two pulleys supported by the frame, the bearings for one of the pulleys being supported for yielding movement lengthwise of the frame, and the bearings for the front and rear pulleys on one side of the frame mounted so that they may be swung laterally to permit the removal of the belt.

In a trimmer, a conveyor belt, a supporting frame for the belt, front and rear pulleys for the belt, bearings for the pulleys supported by the frame, the bearings for one pulley being pivotally supported to swing lengthwise of the frame and the bearings on one side of the frame one for the front and one for the rear pulley being pivoted to swing laterally to permit the re moval of the belt.

5. In a trimmer, a conveyor belt, a supporting frame for the belt, front and rear pulleys for the belt, one of the pulleys having bearings mounted to yield lengthwise of the frame, and a deflector between the legs of the belt and connected to said bearings.

(3. In a trimmer, a conveyor belt, a supporting frame for the belt, front and rear pulleys for the belt, said pulleys having bearings supported by the frame, the bearings for one of the pulleys being mounted for movement lengthwise of the frame, means acting on said bearings to press them yieldingly away from the bearings of the other pulley, and a deflector arranged between the upper and lower legs of the belt and connected to said movable bearings.

7. The combination with the discharge chute of a trimmer, of a continuously mov- 'ing endless yieldingly supported delivery member upon which the chute discharges.

8. The combination with the discharge chute of a trimmer, of a delivery belt therefor, a pair of pulleys about which the belt travels, one of said pulleys being movably mounted and spring pressed away from the other pulley to yieldingly hold the belt taut and to permit the belt to yieldingly absorb the impact of material delivered from the chute.

9. The combination with the discharge chute of a trimmer, of a delivery belt therefor, a pair of pulleys about Which the belt travels, bearings for said pulleys, the bearings for one of the pulleys being movably mounted, and yieldable means acting on said bearings to hold the belt taut and to permit the belt to yieldably absorb the impact of material delivered from the chute.

10. The combination With the discharge chute of a trimmer, of a frame carrying a delivery belt, a pair of pulleys on the frame about Which the belt travels, bearings for said pulleys, the bearings for one of the pulleys being movably mounted, and yieldable means acting on the movable bearings to hold the belt taut and to permit the belt to yieldably absorb the impact of material delivered from the chute the bearings at one side of the frame being adjustable to a position clear of the belt to permit the belt to be removed laterally from the frame.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature.

ARTHUR F. cash 

